Kent City Council voted on Oct. 1, 2025, to commit city funds to help peer‑fund a $1.3 million brownfield cleanup grant for the former Davie Drill / Kent railyard site and to stop pursuit of a residential overlay zoning option for that property.

Council approved a motion to pay half of the 25% local match required by the grant (the full match is about $438,000), with the city's share described in discussion as roughly $220,000 to be appropriated over the grant draw period. Councilmembers said the commitment will be drawn as invoices are submitted against the grant rather than paid in a single lump sum.

The decision came after a staff presentation detailing the environmental complexity of the site. Councilmember Bridget Rosenberg and city staff laid out a decade‑long history of assessment and remediation work on local brownfields and said the Davie Drill site contains multiple “hot spots” of chlorinated solvents, metals and other contaminants. Staff repeatedly cautioned that achieving residential cleanup standards would take many years and substantially more removal than the commercial/industrial targets in the current grant. Bridget Rosenberg said, “getting to residential standards is gonna certainly be no shorter than that, undoubtedly longer.”

Because the grant and the current remediation path are targeted to commercial/industrial standards, staff recommended against adopting a residential overlay that would expect residential standards before a no‑further‑action (NFA) covenant and related documentation could realistically be secured. Council voted to abandon further work on a residential overlay for the property and approved the funding motion for the match. The motion to pay half the match passed by voice vote.

What the city will fund and why: staff said the 75% portion of the $1.3 million grant is already available through the Land Bank arrangement (Hometown Bank is the private partner holding the grant on escrow), and that the city's contribution will enable the Land Bank to draw down the remaining funds and proceed with remediation steps that target commercial/industrial reuse. Staff and council emphasized the public‑health rationale: cleaning to commercial standards and implementing land covenants will reduce exposure risks and make the site suitable for non‑residential redevelopment.

Timeline and costs: staff noted remediation remains active and estimated an NFA to commercial/industrial standards may come in 2026–2027, but cautioned timelines have repeatedly stretched on similar local projects; several past brownfield efforts took multiple years to reach commercial/industrial NFA. Council asked staff to negotiate an agreement with the Land Bank/Hometown Bank that schedules the city’s match payments to the timing of grant draws and documentation of remediation milestones.

Why it matters: the site is large and historically industrial; council and staff said retaining industrial zoning supports local jobs and removes pressure to prematurely approve residential development that would require substantially more remediation. By committing local matching funds, the city aims to secure state grant dollars and reduce environmental liability while preserving options for future reuse.

Formal action: motion to pay half the local match for the Land Bank’s $1.3 million brownfield grant — approved by council (voice vote); motion to discontinue exploration of a residential overlay — approved by council (voice vote).